Memory

I’m writing this from SLC Airport, and blessedly, I’ve again been able to leave my skis and boots here.

Even though on my final trip out for the season, I won’t be staying at the same hotel we were just at (it’s only affordable when I’m in a group), the girl behind the desk is letting me keep my stuff there.

In response to the attempted Christmas-day airplane attack by the underwear-bomber, full-body scanners are being rolled out at an accelerated schedule at airports across the country.

There has been one in Salt Lake City for about a year now, and I’ve been through it several times. It’s very impressive (though they only have one of them.) Last spring, I came through there late at night, and they asked me to go through several times to help test it. It picked up a credit-card receipt that I had in the pocket of my jeans, and had forgotten about. I was impressed. I asked if I could have a print-out and the guy said he couldn’t give me one, and not just for privacy reasons. He said there was no printer, and the pictures weren’t stored. I was skeptical.

This month, I went through again, and again asked the TSA agent what the story was. She told me the same thing – that the pictures can’t be printed, and aren’t even stored. I’m still very skeptical.

As it happened, on my most recent trip out to SLC, I forgot when I went through security at JFK, that I had a yogurt in my knapsack. I normally eat it on the subway, or right before I check-in. An 8 oz. yogurt shouldn’t be allowed, but it went through the x-ray machine unmolested. I guess someone just missed it.

What if that was 8 ounces of something stronger than baking soda and vinegar, and I had ill intent? Wouldn’t the people investigating want to know how someone slipped through the gantlet? Had Al-Qaeda found some undetectable new explosive, or was it human error? I would think they would pore over every single passenger’s x-ray or scan, along with that of their luggage.

Recently a big Bollywood star, Shah Rukh Khan, caused a stir when he claimed he saw security agents ogling a printout of his scan at Heathrow, which he said he then autographed. British aviation officials deny it’s possible, and no-one has stepped forth with any pics. It sounds like maybe was just trying to generate a little press.

For what it’s worth, I will put my John Hancock down for any TSA agent who wants a glossy for their locker or lunchbox.

And who posed for that picture above.. Mr. Peanut? Hit the gym, buddy. And what’s he wearing, a thong?

Heading home tonight, though I’ll be back next week with some work buddies (March is when I spend most of my vacation days). This afternoon, I stopped by the hotel where we'll be staying, and they've let me cache my skis and boots there, so I don’t have to schlepp them back to New York, only to return with them. I was all ready to deploy my puppy-dog eyes, and/or my Hyatt frequent (which I'm not) guest card, but they just said ‘sure’ without a second-thought, and this being Utah, the question of remuneration never arose (just as at the airport, Wi-Fi is free).

Around 8AM tomorrow, without 30 extra pounds of unwieldy gear, I will be even more appreciative. After High Street ,the next stop on the subway is in Manhattan, so the train is heading under the river, and the entrance/exit is on a height of land (the “Heights” part of Brooklyn Heights), so the station is 70 feet underground – deeper than all but a few NYC subway stations. In fact, for a half-year after the line-opened, in 1933, trains just passed through it; they had to wait until the escalators were completed (and there are still 3 flights of stairs you need to climb).

I’ve lost count how many times I’ve done it, and returning to sea-level, I feel like Superman, but after a red-eye flight, it will be nice. I’ll bring back a bunch of hamentaschen for the front-desk folks, to show my appreciation/baffle them.

I stumbled across this on the mountain today. Put some bird-feed out when there is 100"+ of snow on the ground, and you will definitely get props from the avian set. I’d love to hear from anyone who can identify the species.

I took this picture this afternoon. The ‘flattened’ mountain on the right is the location of the Kennecot Mine in Bingham Canyon. It’s one of the world’s largest open pit mines.

As of 2004, 17 million tons of copper, 23 million ounces of gold, and 190 million ounces of silver have been extracted. The value exceeds the Comstock Lode, Klondike, and California gold rushes, combined.

I do a fair bit of driving when I'm out in Utah, and in the car, I listen to the radio. Mostly NPR, some country, but a fair bit of Hispanic music too.

Judging by the number of Spanish-language radio and television stations, there is a sizable Hispanic population around Salt Lake. However, unlike in New York, where the Hispanic population is predominantly of Puerto Rican and Dominican heritage, in SLC it is Mexican.

Hence, rather than merengue or salsa, you hear a lot of Tejano and also mariachi music. Lots of accordion, and Selena is on all the time. That's all good, as I love accordion. Conjunto/Norteñois one of my favorite kinds of music.

Anyways, while I'm not sure my ear is good enough to hear the different accents in Spanish, in English, you can definitely tell the difference between someone from the Caribbean Hispanic world, and someone from Mexico. (I'm also sure there is a difference between Puerto Rican and Dominican accents, but I don't know if I can spot that either).

I thought of this, because "West Side Story", was on tv a little while ago, and watching it, I realized Natalie Wood's accent is definitely Mexican-based. I suppose that's not surprising, as she grew up in California, and that is the accent she would have heard.

Here is an example of what I'm talking about. (Incidentally, the singing you hear is Wood's voice, mixed with Marni Nixon's, who dubbed Wood's singing in the released film).

Let me start off by saying that 'no' - this is not a ski blog, but I am here in Utah skiing, so I hope you can forgive me if a few posts have that miasma about them.

Anyways, let's go back-to-front:

Ugly - I was at Alta today, and as I rode up my first chair of the day, right under the Collins lift, lost in my thoughts, I semi-noticed a guy below the chair skiing fairly o.c. (that's out-of-control). I turned my head for a second and then heard the two young twenty-something guys I was sharing the chair with, exclaim along the lines of "Oh man!".

I glanced down, and the aforementioned guy was lying on the ground, with one of his legs at a real funny angle, and he was moaning for help - loudly. I should clarify that when I said "funny", it wasn't ha-ha funny. My chair-mates said that the guy, deliberately or not, hit a hummock, somersaulted face first, but one of his skis planted, and neither of his bindings released. They were sure he had broken his leg in at least one place. Looking down at him, it was hard to argue.

We shouted down to the chair behind us to relay to the lift operator to get Ski Patrol, and I saw another skier going to his assistance as well. By the time we got to the Collins Angle Station, the liftie there said that Patrol was on the way. Always ski in control.

Bad - Since the death of Natasha Richardson, I've been really taking notice of who is and who isn't wearing a helmet. I'm happy to say that the majority of people are, though I still see some people who don't - even snowboarders, which I view asinsane, a priori. I've noticed that to a man/woman, Alta Ski Patrol doesn't either, but after all, they are Alta Ski Patrol.

Anyways, I'm very happy to see that 99% of all kids I see, are wearing helmets. However, I have seen that other 1%, and it is, quite frankly, distressing to me. The other day at Snowbird I saw what looked to be a grandfather taking his grandchildren skiing, and none of them were wearing helmets. I wanted to whack the guy in the cloth-covered head with my pole, and say, "Feel that?", to convey my views on the subject. I'd be very happy to see states pass a law mandating all minors must wear head-gear.

Good - As I mentioned above, I was Alta today. Today is day 5 of my trip, and it's a record for me to be here this long and not to already have skied Alta. I had amazing days at Solitude, Snowbasin (2x), and Snowbird, but I was feeling vaguely guilty.

It's often said how Alta is "perfect", and I would have to agree. Other mountains are larger, have fewer people, get tracked-out slower, but in terms of the totality - layout, snow, people, Alta -is- pretty much perfect - to the extent that it seems magical.

One aspect of that occurred to me today as I rode a chair (a good time for thinking). Every mountain I've been to has a tree alongside a lift, where people throw trinkets. This is true at Snowbird, Solitude, Snowbasin, and Alta. These trinkets are always of 2 types - bauble necklaces of the kind you see at New Years or in New Orleans at Mardi Gras, and brassieres. I have no idea when this tradition started, nor have I ever seen anyone throw either a necklace or lingerie, but there you have it.

Except at Alta - it's only the necklaces, no underwear. I like that, for a variety of reasons.

Yesterday was, I think, the best skiing I've ever had. One to two feet of snow had fallen throughout the Wasatch the night before, and I headed to Snowbasin. I got there a little later than planned though, because one of my mittens had developed a rip. I had looked around at several stores for a replacement, but it's end-of-season, and pickings were sparse.

My hands get seriously, painfully cold, and I ski with gloves inside of mittens, and so I decided to stop by at my now-favorite ski store, Level Nine Sports, in Salt Lake, which is on the way to the mountain. I bought my helmet from them on my last trip out.

I got there at about 9:30, to see the sign in the window that the store opened at 10:00. So I sat in the parking lot in my car, listening to a conference call from work. 10 AM came and went. Still no sign of anyone showing up at the store. Now, Level Nine looks less like Paragon and more like a record store, circa 1975. I remember getting the distinct feeling that it was run by, and perhaps even owned by people who I could technically be their parents (and who all seemed like serious boarders/skiers). I started wondering, with more than a foot of fresh on the ground, how likely the proprietors were to make an appearance bright and early for their first customer of the day.

I decided not to find out, so at 10:15, I drove to the Walgreen's just down the road, bought a roll of duct tape, wrapped my mitten, and I was off for the aforementioned amazing powder day. The sky was blue, and there was still untracked snow to be had. I was very happy with my skiing and the duct tape worked like a charm.

I'm still in UT, and though I've been coming out here to ski for a bunch of years now, there are a few things that I have to get used to, every time.

The first is how polite everybody is. When you walk in the grocery store, you have to get accustomed to every single employee you encounter, saying "Hello", and/or "How can I help you?". I'm not used to having to talk when I walk in a store. It's not bad, but it ain't New York. (Next time you're looking for something in Duane Reade, you'll realize what I'm talking about).

One thing that is bad here, very bad, is the way people drive. They are huge speeders and worse, tailgaters. Most of the places I ski do not require highway driving, but a couple do, and I always find it un-nerving.

The speed limit here is 65 mph, which means most people are driving 75, and the number of people who have SUVs, or pick-ups or the like out here is -huge-. Sometimes it seems like the only people who drive small cars here are high-school/college girls, senior citizens, and me.

Yesterday, I was driving back from Snowbasin, at afternoon rush-hour. As we got to the I-15/I-215 merge, traffic abruptly came to a complete stop. I watched in my rear-view mirror, as the white SUV behind me got closer and closer. I was expecting to get hit, but fortunately he stopped with a couple of feet to spare. I gave him a "thanks for not hitting me/next time don't follow so closely" eye-brow raise in the mirror.

I then watched a tractor-trailer with a flag that had a cow-skull on it, hit him from behind. I was looking in the mirror, but my tailgater wasn't, so I'm not sure he even knew what was coming. I don't even recall hearing brakes. It looked like the truck driver knew he was going to hit, and was aiming for the lane next to ours, but still clipped him. Amazingly, my car wasn't hit in turn. Fortunately, the driver appeared to be ok. I saw him take his cell-phone headset off, and prepare to get out, in the middle of the 6 lane highway, where everything was now frozen. Just then, the traffic in front of us cleared up, and I proceeded on my way. Fortunately, my hotel was only 5 minutes away, as I was, un-nerved.